The Everest Challenge - National FFA Organization

Mpower Everest:Layout 1 9/15/09 3:01 PM Page 32
B. Evaluating Your Dream Sheet
1. Once you have finished creating your dream sheet organize it into the following categories:
a. Type: family, spiritual, financial, educational, career, etc. (If you didn’t do this at the
beginning.)
b. Arrange them according to a realistic time frame of achievement – 6 months, 1 year, 5
years, 10 years, etc.
2. Look over your time frames, are they divided into short term (1 year or less), medium term
(1-5 years), long term (6-10 years). Are most of your dreams in one area? If you have all
short-term goals, you need to add some long term. If they are all long term you will need
some short-term goals that are stepping-stones to long-term goals.
3 Are your time frames and goals realistic? If you want to be a doctor in four years and you are
a senior in high school, this probably is not realistic. Don’t be afraid to make goals challenging,
just not impossible.
4. How bad do you want the dreams you have listed? Dreams are nice but without dedication,
work and effort they will not become realities. How hard are you willing to work to achieve
the dream? If you are not sure, rent the video Rudy and while watching it, ask yourself,
which of my dreams am I willing to work as hard to achieve as Rudy did to achieve his.
When you can answer this, then you will know which dreams you really want to turn into
goals.
5. Once you are done evaluating your dreams, choose those which are most important to you.
When you first look at your dream sheet, it may be a bit overwhelming. Don’t try to write out
all of your goals in one setting. Start out with two goals. Once you have completed them, feel
free to write more.
C. Writing Your Goals
1. There are five steps to consider in writing your goals.
a. Identifying the Goal – What do you want to achieve, what is the end result you are after?
Be specific. Don’t write a goal like this - I want to earn more money. This doesn’t tell
your brain anything. If you find a penny on the floor you have just achieved your goal.
Write it like this: “I will earn $1500 per month on my summer job.” This is measurable, it
gives your brain a target to go after.
b. Why Do You Want the Goal? – The heart and soul of goal achievement is the answer to
this question. What’s the benefit of going through the work? If you don’t have a strong
desire to achieve the goal, this whole process is a waste of time. Don’t set goals that don’t
have a strong benefit. If you do, your chance of achieving then is slim. Besides, if there’s
not a satisfying result, why go to the work?
c. What’s Stopping You? There must be some obstacles in your way or you would already
be achieving the goal, right? Be honest with yourself on this. The first step to self-
32 — Mpower The Everest Challenge